As I wrap up for the summer, I talk about a research study I'm conducting (with the help of a qualitative research team) titled "Building Faith Communities Where Women in Crisis Find Safety, Support, and Belonging. I thought you would be interested in this.

The purpose of this in-depth qualitative study is to examine how faith communities influence the experiences of women who are navigating crisis, including sexual assault, domestic violence, and divorce. Specifically, the study seeks to identify the congregational characteristics, cultural norms, leadership practices, and theological messages that function as protective factors—and, conversely, risk factors—for women’s safety, support, belonging, and well‑being. By documenting both supportive and harmful congregational dynamics, this research aims to generate insights that can help faith communities strengthen their capacity to respond to women in crisis in trauma‑informed, inclusive, and healing‑centered ways.

I'm spending lots of time this summer on this and will be taking a rest from this podcast until fall. I hope you all have a wonderful summer and find time to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ. I'm going to do that as well. Peace.

I’m going to take a break for the summer, but felt like I didn’t have an episode that closes the loop on the year, so I’ll do that in this episode, but now I’m thinking I’ll do one more as I’ve been mentioning the Church related research I’ll be doing this summer (and have about 8 qualitative researchers helping with interviews) that I know you’ll be interested in. But for this episode I want to talk about where things are at with some of the challenges I’m facing with trying to ensure the more women, girls, and families in our state of Utah are thriving, and there are applications beyond as well. I talk about an editorial I wrote and then pulled applications out of a book I read and how they apply to this work.

In this episode, I explore a principle that has the power to soften your heart, reshape your relationships, and dramatically shift how you experience both the miraclesand the messes of mortality.

It’s the principle of stewardship versus ownership, beautifully taught by Ganel‑Lyn Condie in her recent book: The Stewardship Principle: Reframing Your Life. In this episode, I share my insights on the concepts that connected most deeply with me.